Scott Wykoff's Blog

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

In Case You Missed It

During all the hustle and bustle of the holidays came news out of Iraq that "flew under the radar" for some.

Unlike past years it wasn't news of an IED blast that had injured U.S. soldiers. Far from it.

Here's the military release dated January 1, 2010:

United States Forces - Iraq Completes Month without Combat Action DeathBAGHDAD –December passed without any service members being killed in action. This was the first month in the history of Operation Iraqi Freedom without any U.S. military being killed in combat.Three USF-I troops did die from non-combat related incidents. “We enter the new year with mixed emotions. While we are thankful that no troops were killed in action in December, we are equally mindful of those who have lost their lives while serving our nation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families, and all that have lost a loved one in Iraq,” said Gen. Ray Odierno, Commanding General of USF-I.

The leadership of USF-I reiterated its commitment to supporting the Government of Iraq and its security forces in maintaining a security environment where security incidents have been sharply reduced. “There is still work to be done. We will continue to advise and support our Iraqi partners to pressure terrorist networks and reduce their capability to conduct high-profile attacks,” said Gen. Odierno. “We will continue to support the government and people of Iraq as they progress towards credible and legitimate elections in March followed by a peaceful transition of power.”

All of this as late last week the military introduced a new name for the U.S. force in Iraq. as you can see in the press release above, the Multinational Force-Iraq is now being called the United States Forces-Iraq ( USF-I). The new name comes a few months after other nations pulled their forces out of Iraq, leaving the U.S.